Nature of Life
A body of knowledge that explains the natural world.
What is Science?
The Study of Living Things.
What is Biology?
The basic unit of matter, consisting of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
What are Atoms?
This stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, which is the molecule that holds our genetic material.
What is DNA?
A community of living organisms and their interactions with their environment.
What is an Ecosystem?
To provide natural and testable explanations, understand patterns in nature, and make useful predictions.
What are the Goals of Science?
The idea that life could come from nonliving matter; it has been disproven.
What is Spontaneous Generation?
This consists of two or more elements chemically bonded together.
What is a Compound?
The building blocks of nucleic acids, consisting of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen base.
What are Nucleotides?
The living parts of an environment that affect organisms.
What are Biotic Factors?
An explanation that can be tested.
What is a Hypothesis?
An organism that has only one cell.
What is a Unicellular Organism?
These types of bonds hold water molecules together.
What are Hydrogen Bonds?
DNA has a this type of structure, like a twisted ladder, with a sugar-phosphate backbone and nitrogen bases in the middle.
What is a Double Helix?
This diagram shows how energy moves through an ecosystem, indicating what eats what.
What is a Food Web?
A process that involves making observations, asking questions, forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, drawing conclusions, and communicating results.
These include the ability to grow, reproduce, respond to the environment, and maintain homeostasis.
What are the Characteristics of Life?
Large molecules found in living things, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
What are Macromolecules?
DNA is double-stranded and contains thymine, while this macromolecule is single-stranded and contains uracil instead of thymine.
What is RNA?
A species that maintains balance and supports biodiversity in an ecosystem.
What is a Keystone Species?
This explains why phenomena occur, while a law predicts what will happen under certain conditions.
What is a Scientific Theory?
The change over time that occurs in populations, leading to adaptations that help organisms survive.
What is Evolution?
A protein that speeds up chemical reactions in cells.
What is an Enzyme?
The process of making an identical copy of DNA before a cell divides.
What is DNA Replication?
The predictable change in species composition in a community over time, involving pioneer species and climax communities.
What is Ecological Succession?